Armed Services

According to a report from www.dodbuzz.com, on Dec. 15, the House formally approved a measure giving the Navy permission to buy both classes of Littoral Combat Ship. This comes the same week Navy leadership made its case before the Senate Armed Services committee, asking for permission to buy the Freedom and Independence class ships before the end of the month.
(Source: www.dodbuzz.com)

The Senate Armed Services Committee approved a $517.7b fiscal 2007 defense authorization bill, a 4 percent increase over the amount authorized by Congress last year. The bill, which includes a $50b bridge fund to pay for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan during the first six months of fiscal 2007, totals $4.8b more than authorized by the House Armed Services Committee. The Senate panel, which met behind closed doors, boosted funding for several weapons programs, including the addition of $1

Reps. Bradley Byrne, R-Ala., and Steven Palazzo, R-Miss., visited Huntington Ingalls Industries' (HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division Wednesday. The congressmen, both members of the House Armed Services Committee, met with shipbuilders and were briefed on the construction processes for the four different classes of military ships built at Ingalls.
The Congressmen toured the shipyard and visited various shops where ship units are assembled

According to a Reuters report, President George W. Bush's nominee to head Navy acquisition vowed to make shipbuilding a top priority and said she would try to avert funding disruptions that tend to push costs higher.
Delores Etter, an engineering professor at the Naval Academy who served in the Pentagon during the Clinton administration, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that technologies need to be fully developed and tested before being added to new arms programs

Subsequent to recent reports that the U.S. Navy had a vested interest in the half-completed cruise vessels for American Classic Voyages now-defunct U.S. Lines, the Navy has confirmed that it is no longer interested in pursuing the vessels, which are currently at Northrop Grumman in Pascagoula, Miss.
According to Adm. Vernon Clark, the Navy had reached the decision after its engineers examined one of the ships at the yard

The U.S. Treasury Department outlinedthe history of the review of the proposed acquisition by Dubai Ports World (DPW) of various U.S. port facilities currently operated by P&O Ports. The review was performed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). On February 23, the Senate Committee on the Armed Services was briefed in open session on the proposed acquisition. Ranking Member Carl Levin (D-MI) released a copy of his opening remarks

U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Miss., said that lawmakers will try to add extra ships to the Navy budget, in addition to whatever the Pentagon requests, The Marketplace reported.
Taylor said that President George W. Bush isn't fully focused on military needs as the White House prepares its 2008 budget proposal. As a result, Congress ought to use earmarks or other tools to step in, he said.
Taylor is a member of the House Armed Services Committee and leads its subcomittee in charge of

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) hosted U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.) Tuesday for a tour of the company's Newport News Shipbuilding division. The visit provided the senators an opportunity to meet shipbuilders and see construction progress being made on all programs across the shipyard.
Huntington Ingalls Industries President and CEO Mike Petters and Newport News Shipbuilding President Matt Mulherin were joined by Adm. M.E

Congressman Gene Taylor declared Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's list of recommended base realignments and closures as "yet another bone-headed decision."
"Back in February 2001, Rumsfeld announced his intention to hold a round of base closures. February 2001 was a whole different world than the one we're in now," said Taylor. "On September 11th, 2001, we were attacked. Since then, we've gone to war in Afghanistan and Iraq. We've declared a global war on terrorism

The Director of U.S. National Intelligence, James Clapper, has expressed his concern at the progress of China in maritime zones it shares with its neighbors, accused China of expanding its outposts in the South China Sea in an “aggressive” effort to exert sovereignty.

Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON)(AW/NAC) Michael Stevens testified before Congress Feb. 25.
Stevens appeared before the House and Armed Services Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies.

Conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation argued for increased U.S. port cybersecurity in a report published online this week.
"The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and maritime stakeholders need to stay ahead of [cybersecurity] risks in order to keep trade flow

U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., was chosen by Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., to lead the Subcommittee on Seapower.
The Subcommittee on Seapower is responsible for Navy and Marine Corps programs and procurement, maritime issues

The United States Congress this week enacted the strongest statement of support for the Jones Act and the American domestic maritime industry since the Merchant Marine Act of 1936. The measure was included as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R

Senator John McCain said a more than 90-year-old law that requires ships servicing coastal businesses to be built and mostly staffed by U.S. crews will be repealed sooner or later if lawmakers keep fighting the trade restriction.
Oil refiners

The board of directors of General Dynamics has elected Rudy deLeon to be a director of the corporation, effective September 30, 2014.
DeLeon is a senior fellow with the Center for American Progress, a position he has held since November 2007.

A U.N. Security Council committee on Monday blacklisted the operator of a North Korean ship, which was seized near the Panama Canal last year for smuggling Soviet-era arms, and raised concerns about Cuba's military cooperation with Pyongyang.

The US Navy informs that it has delivered to Congress its annual long-range plan for the construction of naval combatant and support vessels for fiscal year 2015 (FY15) in summary as follows:
"Commonly referred to as the 30-year shipbuilding plan

Raytheon says it has appointed Thomas A. Vecchiolla as president, Raytheon International, Inc., effective immediately.
In his new role, Vecchiolla will be responsible for leading Raytheon's international business team worldwide. Vecchiolla will report to John Harris, vice president

Port2Port Maritime has now been formally accepted as an Associate Member of BIMCO, following the company’s accreditation of ISO/PAS 28007, the first assessment of a maritime security company’s quality management system against an International Standards Organization framework (ISO).

U.S. Navy Aims To Smooth Impact Of Fiscal 2015 Cut To Ship Orders
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WASHINGTON, April 10 (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy hopes to smooth out the impact on Lockheed Martin Corp and Australia's Austal of